Blown Covers

As New Yorkers we immediately recognized our Ghoulish mayor as the curmudgeon at the window. I might have suggested to the artist that he make it Michelle Obama for a joke with more national scope. It's a good idea, either way, and nicely executed.  

This image takes the colors and the themes of the season - cats, witches, spiderwebs, bats, mice, ghosts, and pumpkins - and turns them into a riotous celebration. Simply gorgeous. 

This week, at least, it feels like the occupant of the White House can happily prepare himself for Halloween and what comes after. Let's hope that smile stays in place till November 6.

This image is very nice to look at. We're not exactly sure what it says, but we think it's something about women, business women, glass ceilings and green witches — sounds good to us. 

Pretty! What could go wrong with a cute cat and a cat-pumpkin?

The touchy topic of our fears of muslims is in the news these days. This image shows how veiled women might be seen by some as menacing. It's ironic because of the point of being veiled is to be modest and not stand-out in the public sphere. 

We like the combination of the quotidian and the uncanny. In this story, it would have read more quickly if the woman opening the door wasn't in costume. Our attention is diverted to figuring out who she is when she could just have been our blank stand-in. It would have been nice to let that very cute dog take center stage. 

The Statue of Liberty as a ghost is a simple and effective idea, even if every week Nadja swears she's going to make her off-limits in order to force more original ideas. The composition on the right is prettier to look at, but not immediately readable. The one on the left is clear but it lacks atmosphere and mood. Some middle ground between these two distances would have been best.  

A lovely witch on what feels like a rainy New York evening. I would have suggested this artist not add the second witch in the background. Life in New York city is full of such odd, slightly magical encounters, and not just on Halloween. 

The composition doesn't make the best possible use of the page, but I like the starkness of the black and white and that the idea is easily read. 

Very pretty riff on the colors and symbols of Halloween. And as you may know by now, we have a soft spot for skeletons. 

This image effectively combines Halloween and the upcoming elections, but doesn't take it further in order to say something about either voting or Halloween. 

Funny cartooning - it's nice to see the jack-o-lantern as a character and the dentist himself looks like a creature straight out of The Island of Dr. Moreau. For many of us, there's nothing scarier than going to the dentist. 

A nice joke about ghosts and our fears. But, terrifying as it is, the Klu Klux Klan has to be used in context in order to make a strong point. 

Thank you to all the artists who submitted their beautiful, spooky funny images. This time, we gave artists an extra week to sketch and it’s clear that many used the time to put in even more work than usual. The submissions this week were stellar. Below are two slideshows, and stay tuned for the runners-up and winners beginning tomorrow. We can’t wait to read which are your favorites and why!